1. Field
Aspects of embodiments of the present invention relate to an electrode assembly and a rechargeable battery using the same, and more particularly, to an outer electrode of an electrode assembly.
2. Description of the Related Art
A rechargeable battery can be recharged and discharged, unlike a primary battery that cannot be recharged. A low-capacity rechargeable battery is typically used for a small portable electronic device such as a mobile phone, a laptop computer, and a camcorder, and a large-capacity rechargeable battery is typically used as an electrical source or a power storage source for driving a motor, such as for a hybrid vehicle.
A large-capacity, high-power rechargeable battery with high energy density using a non-aqueous electrolyte has been developed, and the rechargeable battery is formed with a large-capacity, high-power rechargeable battery module by coupling a plurality of rechargeable batteries in series or in parallel in order to use it to drive a device, such as a motor for an electric vehicle requiring a large amount of electric power.
The rechargeable battery may be fabricated in a cylindrical shape, a prismatic shape, a pouch shape, and the like. In a typical rechargeable battery, active material layers are coated on both sides of positive and negative electrodes.
Outer active material layers of outermost electrodes of a stacked-type rechargeable battery do not participate in charge and discharge reaction and are not needed.
However, if the unnecessary outer active material layer is removed, electrodes may be bent during compressing after coating. During electrode fabrication, a one-side coating process and assembling process related thereto are added to a general fabrication process. In consideration of the above, an outermost electrode generally includes active material layers coated on both sides of the electrode. However, this may incur an increase of weight and volume, resulting in a decrease of energy density. It also presents a problem of waste of active materials.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the described technology and, therefore, it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.